Eresys is an Early Access game released on Steam on April 20, 2023. It’s a co-op horror game inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, so get ready for tons of scary tentacles! You can play with up to four people. I suggest you do so, as it takes a lot of teamwork to accomplish missions. If too many of you die, there may not be anyone left to glue you back together. We here at Couch Soup had a unique opportunity to take a look at the early access version. Brandy and Tyler give their initial thoughts and roped fellow contributors Luis and Dan into the madness.

Brandy: I’m what others might call a chicken when it comes to scary games and movies. I have struggled to watch Horror movies and play Horror games for years. But seeing as I live with a survival Horror junkie, I have tried to be more open to at least watching him play his many incredibly gross and squishy games. So why did I decide to review this game? Well, honestly, I’m not really sure! I figured I wouldn’t be as scared because it’s cooperative, and you can have up to three friends play with you. I was very, very wrong. 

The fact that you start as a cultist probably doesn’t bode well, and your guide is a guy with a fish face, which is equally unnerving. 

The environment was dark and scary, and I could hear all kinds of noises that made me jumpy. We didn’t run into all of the horrors this game has to offer but trust me; it was enough. The only weapon you have is a lantern. You can focus the light beam of the lantern to destroy most of the otherworldly creatures. The BIG baddies you just have to hide from. You must be careful not to run out of oil, or you are truly screwed. Honestly, the possessed deer running around the forest made the most terrifying noises in the game. 

As a cultist, your mission is to run around the map and find pages to a cultist book. You have to put blood on altars, which I did not do because…CHICKEN. I did go into an eerie house while Luis put blood on an altar, and he was immediately hunted by the “Ancient One” and murdered. The creatures can hear you if you make sounds, and while Luis was screaming for me to pick up his head, I was in the house, hiding from the creepy thing hunting me. It was at this point that our party of four got separated. It was me (holding Luis' head while he guided me through the forest), and Dan and Tyler were off screaming elsewhere. Teamwork is key because when we were all separated, it was just a whole lot of chaos, and somehow, we all managed to die really terrible deaths. 

The creatures are terrifying, and they are constantly hunting you. If they are vulnerable to the lantern, you can use that, but I mostly just hid and screamed.

When you die (there is no if), you are a disembodied head. Your cultist friends then have to transport your head and find a random headless mannequin-looking thing to attach it to (we called them Ken dolls). 

This game caused me to shriek multiple times. Even though there are some bugs at the moment, with the game being in early access, I can see this being a fun group game to be truly terrified by. A good headset will be essential, so you can hear all the creepy sounds and the Voidwalker’s running steps behind you as it chases you down to murder you. 

Tyler: I was extremely excited going into Eresys completely blind. I’m not the biggest Lovecraft nerd, but I do love all things cosmic horror, so the “tentacle cultist” theme of this game was right up my alley. After playing the game, though, I have to say that I was thoroughly… “whelmed?” 

There’s a solid foundation for a brilliant game here, even though it’s a little bit rough around the edges at the moment. The first time our misbegotten gang started the game, massive tentacles sprang forth from the ground and killed us within seconds of us picking up the book in the starting area (this was, of course, very funny). The second time we set out on our eldritch adventuring, I somehow got stuck in a rock (this was, of course, very frustrating… but also funny). 

After jumping around for three or four minutes, I somehow got unstuck from the rock. So what I’m trying to say is there’s some jank here at the moment! 

With that being said, Eresys also elicited some true ear-piercing screams from my candy ass. The Lovecraftian Horrors you’re sure to stumble on have some pretty unique designs… and they run SO damn fast. It’s stressful enough holding off one monster, but when the game gets going, and you start to run the risk of being chased down by THREE tentacled bastards at any given point in time, that’s where Eresys really shines. 

The game is definitely fun to play with friends, and coordination really does feel necessary as the horrors ramp up. We enjoyed the chaos, the creepy critters, and the dark, eerie aura of the game. While there are some glitches and bugs in this early access; we know there will be time for fixes and patches before the full game releases. So hold on to your clean underpants because once this game is fully released, you’re going to need them. Stay tuned here to Couch Soup for some follow-up reviews and scores once the game is released in its full glory. 

Does this seem like something that would elicit screams? Even our most dead inside had a few scares when we played. Do you plan to check this out? Let us know in the comments!